I've read about this cast in various books over the years, and I've tried using it, but I've never really gotten it to work well. Has anybody here tried it? What was your experience?

If you're not familiar with what I mean by "slingshot cast" then it is basically holding your rod in your normal hand with the line held tight between your forefinger and the rod. Then grasp the bend of the hook between the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, flex the rod, and release the fly once the appropriate amount of rod flex is achieved. The rod will straighten out and shoot the fly forward, and you release your grip on the line with your rod hand/finger so that the line can slide through the guides. This assumes the weight of your fly/line that is beyond the rod tip is sufficient to pull more line through the guides.

I have used it a few times over the years,it does work.

02-05-2009 01:04 PM

Adrian

Joe has an interesting array of techniques up his sleeve.

In addition to his bow & arrow cast, I watched him successfully double haul a clouser minnow alomost out of the exhibition hall with no fly-line - just pure gelspun braid. He recommends it when you want to get down deep in a current.

Probably best to try this out on an old / glass rod you dont mind "dinging" until you get your timing down

02-04-2009 10:48 PM

Dpollipo@cox.ne

I have seen Joe Humphry shoot 30 feet of line with a slingshot cast. He did that during a presentation he made 7 or 8 years ago; Joe also has a video in which he uses a slingshot cast - including 15 or 20 feet of 'shot' line - to reach a trout rising under an overhanging branch on the other side of the stream. The fly landed, drifted drag free for a couple of feet, and the trout was hooked and landed.

That being said, shooting line with any accuracy - indeded, shooting line at all - with a slingshot cast requires great skill and perfect timing and I sure can't do it.

David

02-29-2008 08:12 PM

striblue

The comments above are correct. I used it up in Quebec...but a short rod... 5wt and under and flex rod and in "extreme" tight situations...Overhanging branches...no room to back cast or even roll cast... Combine it with dapping which also works if you can get to the water line on a bank though underbrush.... But it does not shoot line. I suppose with a stiff rod you might get a couple inches out, but short accuracy is key and at obviuosly short distances. I found that...if in the right position... a drift into the spot is a better approach., otherwise you will find that you will tangle in branches if too tight.JMHO.

02-29-2008 07:27 PM

fullerfly

I agree with the statement above.

A slingshot cast is used more efficiently with softer rods and work well in very tight situations.

As for "shooting" line through the guides.... It doesn't really work that way. It is pretty much strictly for tight quarters casting when distance is not the objective.

cal

02-01-2008 04:33 PM

millerbrown

I agree with ABCD. Back in the stone age (early '70's) my first quality rod was a 7ft, 5wt glass Fenwick. I could make this cast work( slow action) but it was useless if I needed to make a accurate cast to a rising trout with a dry fly. Also, a long leader really makes this cast impractical. I find that this cast is more of a novelty and less of a strategy.

Millerbrown

02-01-2008 12:54 PM

Geordie Shanks

fun stuff

I have never used the slingshot cast but actually got the bow and arrow cast down pretty good early in my fishing career when I fished several tiny, brush choked streams a couple hour drive from my house. The rod I got good with is an eight foot, slow action Winston rod. I unwind maybe 15 feet of line and pinch it off at th handle with the rest unraveled by my feet ready to shoot, then grab the bend of the hook, put the rod parallel to the water and let it fly. I got to the point where I could shoot maybe 15-20 feet of line out under bushes and overhangs. I viewed it as a novelty cast at first but when I got effective at it, it paid off more than a few times and it was kind of fun. I'm going to give the slingshot a try though.

I would think shorter, slower rods would work best with the B&A cast. I found that when I used a stiffer rod that it whip the line around too much and cause problems. Fun stuff.

02-01-2008 11:29 AM

FrenchCreek

Like ABCD's reply, I use(d) that cast in smaller streams wher OH casting is not possible and more often to get underneath some overhanging brush. It works best for me with a medium action rod, (e.g. more flexible Vs. more stiff) and tyically with a shorter rod on small streams, say not more than 8 Ft., typically with a 5 Wt. line and fiberglass rods, way back when!
With today's rods being much faster, I would suggest that this cast needs a lot of practice. There are alternate casts that can be used in tight quarters that I think do as well, something like a mini roll cast or spey style cast now works for me and are easier to do. New lines that have a shorter & heavier front taper, I call them WFFF, also help with the slingshot or B&A cast, something like a cut back S/A Headstart line taper.

01-31-2008 12:17 PM

abcd

I have used bow and arrow casts once, but only because there was no other way. A long, long time ago now I was exploring a new to me, tiny (less than 2m wide), brook trout stream that was so overgrown with trees and brush that it was impossible to cast normally. I was using my shortest rod, a soft 6½ ft 4wt cane. I did manage to catch a few but found it to be no fun at all, more work than play, and I have never bothered with that or similar places again. I also caught a few there by dapping, another tactic for tight spots.

My lack of skill probably had something to do with it but I think I am more accurate at 20 metres casting normally than at 5 metres with a bow and arrow cast. I was hanging up on wood maybe 2 out of 3 casts with the 3rd not landing exactly where I intended. I think the only reason I caught any at all was that the little stream was so full of fish that had rarely been fished for. It was also the kind of place mosquitoes love.

I wonder what type of rod would be best for a bow and arrow cast, slow, medium, or fast action.

01-31-2008 10:08 AM

teflon_jones

Slingshot cast?

I've read about this cast in various books over the years, and I've tried using it, but I've never really gotten it to work well. Has anybody here tried it? What was your experience?

If you're not familiar with what I mean by "slingshot cast" then it is basically holding your rod in your normal hand with the line held tight between your forefinger and the rod. Then grasp the bend of the hook between the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, flex the rod, and release the fly once the appropriate amount of rod flex is achieved. The rod will straighten out and shoot the fly forward, and you release your grip on the line with your rod hand/finger so that the line can slide through the guides. This assumes the weight of your fly/line that is beyond the rod tip is sufficient to pull more line through the guides.